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Global Brain and Sony Financial Ventures Launch Next-Gen AI-Native CVC

• ByStartupStory     |    October 19, 2025

Tokyo’s venture capital scene is getting a fresh push with the formation of a new corporate venture capital (CVC) company co-founded by Global Brain and Sony Financial Ventures. The new entity aims to invest in startups that are not only financially promising but fundamentally AI-native, setting the stage for innovation tightly aligned with cutting-edge technologies.

Strategic Purpose & What “AI-Native” Means

The newly established CVC will focus on businesses whose structures, products, or operations are built with AI at their core—not merely using AI as a feature. The idea is to back the next wave of transformative startup ventures that are inherently designed around machine learning, automation, data-driven decision-making, and similar technologies.

Sony Financial Ventures, the financial-services investment arm of Sony Financial Group, is leveraging this partnership to deepen its strategic exposure to emerging fintech, insurtech, and adjacent sectors, especially those where synergies with its existing business can be created. Global Brain will bring its startup investment expertise, deal-sourcing capabilities, and global network to support the new entity.

Background: Prior Collaborations

This is not the first time Global Brain and Sony Financial Ventures have worked together. Previously, they co-managed funds such as SFV･GB (launched in 2018) and its successor SFV･GB II, each sized at around ¥5 billion, with portfolios including fintech, AI, mobility, healthcare, and related fields.

The new CVC is meant to build upon that track record yet go further by emphasizing “AI-native” startups. It reflects a shift toward more proactive, technology-first investment strategy rather than simply financial returns.

Why the Timing Matters

Several trends make now a compelling moment for this move:

• The growing importance of AI in both finance and broader technology infrastructure means new startups are being built from day one with AI as a foundational block.

• Corporates (like Sony Financial Group) are increasingly looking to stay ahead of disruption, seeking investments that offer both strategic alignment and technological leverage.

• Investors globally are more alert to the risk of falling behind in AI adoption, particularly in regulated sectors like financial services, where data, compliance, and customer trust need tech innovation.

Launching a dedicated AI-native CVC allows Global Brain and Sony Financial Ventures to target not just startups that are AI-enabled, but those that are AI-centric—which can make a difference in speed of execution and capability.

Expected Benefits & Challenges

What This Can Deliver

• Early access to cutting-edge innovation: Spotting startups very early that build their products around AI, enabling more strategic partnerships and integration.

• Stronger strategic alignment: For Sony Financial Group, this opens up opportunities to integrate new technologies, possibly improve existing services, or enter new business domains.

• Global reach: With Global Brain’s network, there’s potential for cross-border investment, enabling portfolio companies to scale outside Japan more quickly.

Potential Obstacles

• Finding the right startups that truly are “AI-native” (not just using AI peripherally) is challenging.

• Regulatory, ethical, and data-privacy constraints, especially for financial services, may limit what can be done or how fast.

• Competition: More VCs and CVCs are gravitating toward AI; standing out will require differentiated value, not just capital.

• Balancing strategy and return: Corporate interests might sometimes pull in different directions from pure financial return or rapid growth.

What to Expect Next

The newly formed CVC likely will:

• Define its investment criteria explicitly around AI-native architecture, business model, and product design.

• Look for startups in sectors such as fintech, insurtech, AI infrastructure, data platforms, and possibly new financial models that leverage AI.

• Use its historical funds/portfolios as a base to build from, while also exploring new startup ecosystems globally.

• Provide more than just capital—leveraging Sony’s business units and Global Brain’s operational experience to accelerate growth for its portfolio companies.

Overall, this move signals how Global Brain is doubling down on AI as not just a trend but a foundation for its next generation of venture investment. For Sony Financial Group, it shows a strategy to embed innovation more deeply rather than acting reactively. If executed well, this CVC could be one of the models that defines corporate investment in AI over the coming years.

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